Frequently Asked Questions

 

6. I'd like to do something to help others, like maybe writing a book. What advice do you have?

First go back and read the answer to Question No. 5. I get inquiries from authors, or "want'a-be" authors, about writing books almost every month. There are many, many survivors who aspire to do this and it’s fine and noble to consider it. You need to consider it with a good therapist in tow, however. One who understands just what you’d be up against and the long haul ahead if you choose this route.

If you want to write a book, there are many, many things to learn, skills to develop, and questions to consider, starting with the fact that finding a traditional publisher to even look at a manuscript for a first-person survivor story is practically impossible these days; and self-publishing or e-publishing requires considerable work and expense that you are very unlikely to recuperate unless you are already well known as an author.

Traditional publishers know a lot more than we give them credit for, starting with the fact that survivor stories do not sell nearly as well as most people would think. Why? Because of the very reasons that your story isn't likely to be well received by the general public ('It's a "church matter" is the reasoning, if the story is about abuse in the church itself) And it's certainly not likely to be well received in most of the faith community, though you may dream (as so many of us have) that it would be if you just wrote it.

So what about the survivor community that is so large? Truth is that only survivors who have come to a considerable amount of personal resolution, so that they are starting to really search for answers, are going to have the emotional energy to read first-person stories or other books pertaining to abuse. These books aren't nearly the big sellers that most people would believe for the very reasons that people tend to run from the subject so much, even after all of the exposure.

Still, it's worth pursuing. So check out amazon.com or Evinger’s bibliography to see what's been written that's similar to what you are thinking of writing. If you still feel that you have a unique story or idea that will be worth all of the time and energy it takes to write it, start by setting up a personal website or posting something on line, on another site that takes submissions. Or try starting with an article in a magazine first. Find out how to get that much easier job done by going to magazines like Writers' Digest or get a copy of the book Writers' Market, published annually, at your local library.

Good luck as you find new ways of being a forerunner by presenting new ideas. For that's exactly where the market is in writing. It's just very hard work, believe me!